


Vanilla Latte

by acrossthestarss



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5308760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acrossthestarss/pseuds/acrossthestarss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin works part-time at a local Café near Coruscant University. He's a college freshman majoring in Aerospace Engineering and Flirting Like a Loser.</p><p>Padmé is a student at Coruscant University's Law School who ACTUALLY wants to make a difference...if only someone would take her seriously.</p><p>Obi Wan is Anakin's nagging philosophy professor who just happens to love him like a brother.</p><p>Ahsoka is that high school student who thinks she's in college already (which helps greatly in her attempts to stick her nose in college drama).</p><p>And everyone has lost track of how many Fett relatives frequent the Café.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hey Angel

**Author's Note:**

> WHOOPS MY HAND SLIPPED AND I WROTE A COFFEE SHOP COLLEGE AU. enjoy fam!! xx

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin would rather be sleeping than anywhere else at the moment; at least, until he has to work the register. Padmé may have just ordered caf from the hottest guy she's ever met. They don't want anyone to know that though.

You'd think the smell of freshly-brewed caf could never get overwhelming.

Especially as a University freshman who had gotten (one, two...) approximately four hours of sleep the night before, one would expect the smell of organically-grown-without-pesticides-on-free-trade-certified-Corellian-plantations caf beans to be refreshing after another post-class lecture from Professor Kenobi ("Skywalker, I read your AP Galactic History essay on Nubian trade ethics, I _know_ you're not trying your best"). He'd managed to scrape together a precis for Galactic Literature at no later than three in the morning, and he'd just stumbled through not one, not two, but THREE classes, two of which he didn't know _why_ he'd even signed up for, plus a bonus one-sided argument with Kenobi, his relentless philosophy professor (whose class Anakin miraculously enjoyed). Nevertheless, Anakin knew how to Just Get By. He was _good_ at it. It had gotten him a full ride to the galaxy's most prestigious University and out of his dustball of a home planet.

He didn't want anyone to know that though.

"Hey 'Kin, can you handle the register for a few minutes while I go on my lunch break?" his coworker, Barriss Offee, asked him. Anakin could barely be medically considered 'awake,' and he hadn't an ounce of focus left in him, but he reluctantly took his spot behind the register as Barriss, one of two people living on Coruscant he could consider a friend (though he KNEW he'd won Obi Wan over after their lengthy debate concerning genetic Force-sensitivity), left the café. He was too focused on how much he missed his cheap, comfy sheets in his warm, unmade bed, in his cluttered, cramped dorm room, however, to notice the café door chime and the flustered customer that had stumbled in.

"Hey, could I just get a tall vanilla latte to-go, please? I'm in a bit of a hurry," a voice said seemingly from nowhere, snapping Anakin out of his sleep-deprived reverie and causing him to drop the pen he'd been twirling around in his hand.

"Yeah, sorry," he stumbled. When he finally retrieved his wayward pen and looked up, he came face-to-face with the most incredible set of brown eyes he'd ever seen, and he discovered they belonged to what he believed to be the human embodiment of beauty itself.

Or, at least, the single most attractive being he'd ever laid eyes on...ever.

"Are you ... are you an _angel_?"

The "angel's" eyes widened in surprise as Anakin stumbled to his feet and tried to grasp what had just forced its way out of his mouth. "Kriff, I'm so...so sorry, what was that again?"

She stared at him with confusion. Not like judgmental, offended confusion, just plain old, what-the-kriff confusion. Anakin took it as a sign that he hadn't stepped too far out of line, and he listened as she opened her perfect mouth to speak another perfect sentence with her perfect voice (though it's not like he even _remembered_ what her voice sounded like).

"No, no it's fine, it's fine..." she said, her voice trailing off for a second. Anakin watched as she briefly scanned his features, her eyes locking with his for a split second. All too soon for Anakin's liking, though, she cleared her throat and attempted to compose herself.

"I just said I'll take a tall vanilla latte, please," she repeated as her comlink buzzed.

"Actually, make that two vanilla lattes. Oh, and can you make one with a shot of caramel cream?" she continued as Anakin felt his heart sink (he didn't even realize that was _possible_ ).

"Sure, coming right up," he replied, quickly shuffling over to the espresso machine so she wouldn't see his flaming red cheeks (which he, again, didn't think could actually _happen_ ). Anakin sighed as it seemed that EVERYONE was on their lunch break and he would have to make Angel's drinks himself.

 _The second one is probably for her boyfriend. She probably has a date or something_ , he thought miserably as he walked back to the counter and handed Angel her hot caf cups with a sheepish grin. "That'll be six credits," he said, typing her receipt onto the holopad perched on the counter.

Angel handed him a few silver credits, leaving Anakin unaware that she had noticed his crestfallen expression. "Thanks so much," she replied, trying to balance her backpack that had fallen off her shoulder onto her elbow along with the two steaming cups of caf. She stopped short in front of the door, though, and she quickly turned on her heel to face the counter once more.

"I have a study group!" she blurted suddenly to Anakin's surprise. "With some friends... I'm not dating anyone."

Anakin and Angel stared at each other for a few awkward seconds until Angel turned clumsily around and sprinted out the door.

 _Kriff_ Anakin thought, _Maybe sleep deprivation isn't such a bad thing after all_.

* * *

_What just happened?_

That was all her mind could register at the moment. One second, she was rushing to grab a quick pick-me-up before her crunch-time study session with Sabé and Dormé, then suddenly, all she could see were blue eyes.

The most beautiful blue eyes in the galaxy.

And they weren't, like, _blue_ eyes. Not sky blue, or dark blue, not bluish-green, or greeny-blue. They were _azure_ blue. _Electric_ blue. The bluest blue of all shades of blue. She wasn't even very _fond_ of the color blue, but then again, she'd never seen a blue like _that_ before.

Okay, so maybe Padmé Amidala had just met the hottest guy she'd ever seen in her life.

She didn't want anyone to know that though.

But Padmé had a hunch that Hot Guy fancied her, because, well, let's be real here: normal college dudes don't go around calling girls kriffing _angels_ all the time. She'd somehow caught him off guard when she ordered her drink, and judging by his reaction to his own words, he didn't actually mean to say anything. And it was practically _impossible_ to miss that miserably hot frown that crossed his face when she'd ordered a second caf.

Okay, so maybe Padmé had just met the hottest guy she'd ever seen in her life, and _maybe_ she fancied him.

And if this was possibly the hottest guy on Coruscant, maybe she was a little worried that Hot Guy didn't _actually_ fancy her.

She could have squeezed her way out of an awkward situation and just forgotten the whole thing had it not been for her stupid outburst. What if he had a girlfriend? He probably had a girlfriend who got to enjoy those big blue eyes all she wanted, and he _probably_ didn't care that she'd just broken up with Clovis after a miserable two months and was only getting a second caf because Sabé was too broke to buy one herself and too lazy to get a job. She'd been so _stupid_. So _kriffing_ —

"Padmé?" Sabé shouted, snapping Padmé out of her daze, "Are you gonna, like, sit down, or...?"

"Y-yeah, sorry...I don't know what..." she stammered as she sat down and dropped her bag on the floor, forgetting about the steaming vanilla latte in her hand. Her bag knocked the cup out of her hands as it slid down her arm, and it exploded all over her.

"SITH!" she shouted. Her brand new bought-on-clearance designer dress was now giving her possible second-degree burns because she stupidly spilled her caf because of stupid Hot Guy!

“Woah, Padmé, sorry about that! Here, you can have mine. You clearly need it more than I do,” Sabé said with a laugh.

Dormé shot Sabé a look. “Dude, the caf’s not the problem. There’s obviously something else going on. What’s up, Padmé? Did you see Clovis at the café again?”

“No,” she began, “That’s why I went to a different café this time.”

 _And that’s the problem_ , she thought. Those eyes. That _smile_. The gorgeously awkward way he’d slipped and called her _angel_ for Force’s sake. How could she _not_ have a problem with that?

“But it’s a guy, isn’t it?” her friend continued. Oh Force, how she _hated_ that they could read her so well.

“I mean… I don’t know…” Padmé tried, though her efforts were futile considering the look on Sabé’s face. They knew. They always knew. And how could they not? Padmé was so closed off to everyone else, and she _had_ to open up to _someone_ about her life. They'd all been friends since high school, and at this point, they knew each other's habits and quirks well enough to the point where it was a bit concerning.

Best friends could be both a blessing and a curse, apparently.

Padmé sighed, defeated, “Okay… yeah, it was a guy. A hot one too.”

“Seriously? Thank the gods, I was worried something bad had happened!” Sabé exclaimed as Padmé sat down.

_**You have no idea.** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I had to drive for about thirteen hours today, and after reading around 73 Narry Storan oneshots, I was inspired to write a Coffee Shop College AU because, quite honestly, the Star Wars fandom lacks classic Coffee Shop and College AUs.
> 
> Hope yall like this chapter cause it might be a little while before I get the next one up cause I'm lazy :) All the love, S.


	2. butterflies, the beautiful kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s no way in hell that Anakin will enjoy himself tonight, Padmé gets a fake boyfriend, and the smell of beer is great aromatherapy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!!!!! it's been a minute. as you've probably noticed it's taken quite awhile for inspiration to strike for the next chapter of my story, but after finally getting inspired again and writing this next chapter, i realized that my original second chapter didn't make any sense and wasn't necessary for the plot, SO i took it down to replace it with this one. hope you all enjoy and i can't wait to see where this story goes from here :)))

“You’ve been working on this thing for five hours! Come on, it’s time for you to take a break.”

Dormé had been hovering over Padmé for at least ten minutes trying to convince her to stop working on her History of Women in Politics paper and go to their friend Teckla’s party. Padmé had tried explaining that Teckla was  _ always _ throwing parties and there’d be another opportunity soon enough, but it had worked to no avail.

“It wouldn’t be any fun with me tagging along, anyways,” Padmé continued, “I always end up being the party mom and then none of us have fun.”

“Well, how about _ I’ll _ be the party-mom-slash-designated-driver this time if you _ promise  _ you’ll take a break from your work and relax!” Dormé said, leaning against Padmé’s desk chair.

Padmé glanced at her data pad and papers littered with sticky notes and sighed. She realized she wouldn’t be able to get much farther with her work tonight as her brain was already starting to go numb. She’d  _ love _ a break, but she didn’t think following her friends around at a party was the kind of thing that would relax her mind at all. In fact, it would just force her to speak to people and pretend to be interested in their conversations, something she knew very well to be exhausting.

Although, a free drink would be kind of nice.

“Please?” Dormé begged, “Just this one? I promise I’ll  _ never _ ask you to come to another party again.”

Padmé glanced back at her work, then up at the window her desk stood against, then back at her work again. To be honest, she really  _ did _ need an excuse to get away from all the statistics and news articles she’d been combing through that afternoon.

“You know what? As long as  _ you’re  _ the responsible one and I don't have to be, why not? Maybe I  _ could _ use a break after all,” Padmé said.

* * *

 

Anakin continued wiping the counter as Rex rambled on about...whatever it was he always rambled about. It was Anakin’s turn to close up the café tonight, and all of his coworkers had left already for their Friday night plans Anakin couldn’t care less about.

His roommate really knew how to talk up a storm, and as Rex wrapped up his story about yet  _ another _ one of his relatives who had gotten caught up in a terrible business deal, Anakin adjusted a stack of clean caf mugs and checked the settings on one of the freshly-wiped espresso machines.

“So, basically, that’s why you never buy a speeder from a Rodian who’s wanted for fraud in four different systems,” Rex concluded, reclining back against the wall underneath one of the café’s five paintings (which were there for  _ aesthetic purposes _ , according to Anakin’s boss). It was already past eight o’clock, but it didn’t bother Anakin too much because it wasn’t like he had anywhere to be tonight, anyway. Besides, he found the café to be peaceful at this time of night, so he usually took the closing shift on Fridays because it allowed him to clear his head at the end of the week as he went through each of the closing up chores and walked home through the city streets in the crisp night air.

This was proving to be difficult with Rex chattering non stop by his side.

“Oh yeah, I heard about this party happening tonight at some junior’s place a few blocks from here. We should go,” Rex, never one to refuse anything that involved free booze, said casually.

Anakin wanted to end this conversation as swiftly as possible. He didn’t find parties to be the slightest bit of fun, so he replied brusquely, “Can’t. I’m busy.”

“Oh, come on, we _both_ know that’s not true,” Rex accused him.

Well, it was  _ technically _ true… Anakin had already scheduled a date with pizza, Holonet, and some peace and quiet back at his dorm for the night, which was a commitment he simply couldn’t break.

“Yeah, it is! I’ve got… _ plans _ ,” he tried.

“If by plans you mean Holoflix, then–”

“So? That counts as plans!” Anakin responded defensively.

“Anakin, you’ve been here for two months and  _ still _ haven't’ gone to a single party,” said Rex, “Do you even have any friends yet besides me? Parties are what college is all about! You know, it’s supposed to be ‘the time of your life’ and all that.”

“No, I’m fairly confident that’s  _ not _ what college is all about. I’m gonna head home,” Anakin concluded, hanging up his green apron, “Make sure to lock the door when you get back, okay? And don’t fly drunk, either.”

Rex blocked Anakin as he made a move to exit.

“But I really bet you’d have fun this time!” Rex exclaimed.

“Well,  _ I _ really don’t,” Anakin replied, “You of all people should know how much I hate parties.”

Rex stopped him again, “You wanna  _ bet _ ?”

Anakin paused. “Bet? Bet  _ what _ ?”

“That you’ll have a good time,” Rex explained, “How about this: If you don’t have a good time, then you win and I’ll pay for your Holoflix subscription for the rest of the semester.”

_The rest_ _of the_ _semester?_ Anakin thought, _Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to go to this party after all._

“And if  _ I _ win,” Rex continued, “then I get control of the AC for a  _ month _ .”

Anakin shivered at the thought. Rex always kept the room  _ so cold _ , which wasn’t at all comfortable for someone who’d grown up on a desert planet. Did he really want to risk it?

Then again, there was no way in all seven Corellian hells that he would enjoy himself, so the odds were pretty heavily in his favor.

“Alright, deal. But I’m going to complain the whole time, you know.”

Rex grabbed Anakin’s hand in a firm handshake as Anakin started dreading the long,  _ long _ night he had ahead of him.

* * *

 

Padmé watched as Sabé and Dormé trudged through Teckla’s muddy front lawn, struggling to keep their heels from getting stuck in the mud. Walking across the grass with ease in her suede oxfords, Padmé pulled her jacket tighter around her shoulders as a chilly breeze swept past. She really hated parties, and house parties were the worst parties of all. As they had arrived late (thanks to Sabé’s forty-minute shower), she assumed everyone had arrived and she would be forced to spend the entire night trying to squeeze through crowds of drunk college kids and fumes of death stick smoke.

She knew already that she’d made a mistake coming here tonight, and sure enough, the place was packed just as she expected, reminding her why she hadn’t gone to a house party since freshman year.

Wringing her nose at the potent smell of beer that greeted them upon their arrival, Padmé stood still as her friends disappeared into the living room, leaving her all alone to figure out how to pass the time till she could slip out of the party and go home.

She pushed through clusters of people blocking each entryway in the house, hoping she wouldn’t get lost along the way. Teckla and five other girls all shared the rent on this three floor, six bedroom, four bathroom house just outside of campus, making it the perfect site for a run-of-the-mill college party – and a confounding labyrinth to navigate.

Padmé bumped into a few people here and there, hoping she was going in the right direction to wherever the food was. Sure enough, after slamming shoulders with some guy she didn’t know, she came upon a kitchen counter loaded with chips and dip, a half finished bottle of red wine resting next to a stack of cups. As she went to load a paper plate with tortilla chips, she felt a hand on her shoulder and an all-too-familiar voice shouted, “Padmé!” – his breath dripping with the scent of alcohol.

Visibly cringing as she pieced together the hand and the voice, she realized just who had stumbled upon her, and she reluctantly turned to her side to face the person she’d worked so hard to avoid for the past eight months.

“Oh, hi Rush,” she managed, her face showing the discontempt from a short lived relationship in which she had been unknowingly cheated on nearly the whole time.

Rush Clovis was an average-height, dark-haired heir to a large family business empire who had charmed Padmé into a relationship she was sure she’d regret for the rest of her life. He was genteel and attractive at first glance, but he was also an incredible liar, as he only ever made acquaintance with people if he could get something out of it. Padmé had unfortunately fallen for his fabricated compliments, sumptuous gifts, and romantic getaways to his ten houses in the Scariff system and hadn’t seen the true self-centered, cheating scum that lived beneath his façade of charm and expensive cologne.

“Didn’ expect to see you here,” he spoke nonchalantly, his words slurring, “It’s really been awhile, hasn’t it? So, wha’s new in the life of the lovely miss Padmé Amidala Naberrie?”

Padmé drew in a sharp breath. She  _ hated _ when he used her full name like that.

“Uh...nothing interesting. I have to go,” she tried, keeping her eyes to the ground and thinking up the fastest route out of the kitchen.

“No, wait,” he said, his words becoming more drawn out and more slurred the longer he spoke, “The truth is I’ve  _ missed _ you, Padmé. Can’t we jus’ catch up a bit?”

He grabbed her wrist and tried to hold both her hands, but Padmé snatched them away before he could.

“No. You’re drunk, and I have no interest in catching up with  _ cheaters  _ –” he made another move for her hand and she swiped it away again – “like you. If you’re looking for someone to hook up with, try finding someone who doesn’t mind people lying through their teeth. Have a nice life.”

She walked swiftly around him, but he was faster, and he whipped around her other side to face her again.

“Aw, c’mon, babe, why not?” he pleaded, his voice oozing with feigned desperation, “It’s not like you got another boyfriend or somethin’. Just gimme a  _ chance _ .”

It looked as if she weren’t going to get out of this very easily.

_ Another boyfriend… another boyfriend…  _

Just then, an idea occurred to her.

 

 

 

The only reason Anakin hadn’t left yet was because he had volunteered himself as Rex and his friends’ designated driver for the night, as it was pretty much a guarantee they’d be hammered by the end of the party, and also because he needed to be able to prove how much he hated the whole thing so he could have a free month-long Holoflix subscription.

Nevertheless, he’d been standing on the sidelines the whole time, watching the party unfold as if he wasn’t even there. He  _ really _ hated parties, and this one only served as a reminder of why. For one, he found them to be completely pointless and not fun, but he’d also never been much of a social person either, and he didn’t know how to start conversations and friendships in unfamiliar environments with lots of people – he’d been lucky his roommate had started their friendship for him.

Someone bumped into Anakin’s shoulder suddenly, knocking his plastic cup and spilling some of his drink (just water) on Rex, who was standing right next to him, though Rex was far too wrapped up in a game of beer pong to notice. Anakin watched the person weave her way through more clusters of people until she reached the kitchen counter, and though she seemed…  _ familiar  _ in some way, he brushed it off and went back to pretending to be interested Rex’s game, at least until he heard an even more familiar, flustered voice.

“No. You’re drunk, and I have no interest in catching up with  _ cheaters _ like you,” the person snapped.

The sense of panic that struck him when he realized that this person was definitely  _ not _ a stranger and the startling anger in her voice caused him to turn around and search the scene for the source of that voice, and when he found her, he saw just who he was expecting to see:

The angel—uh,  _ girl _ , from the café.

“If you’re looking for someone to hook up with, try finding someone who doesn’t mind people lying through their teeth. Have a nice life.”

Anakin then noticed the guy standing in front of her, and it didn’t seem like the guy was going to give up very easily. The girl tried to maneuver around him, but the dude blocked her and she was trapped.

“Aw, c’mon babe –” the girl cringed at the word  _ babe _ – “It’s not like you got another boyfriend or somethin’. Just gimme a  _ chance _ .” he responded.

For an instant, she looked completely helpless, her eyes searching for an escape. Then, however, she looked the guy right in the eye and spoke again.

“Well... as a matter of fact, I  _ do _ have a boyfriend.” she said almost completely with ease.

Anakin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

_ Oh, wait...she has a boyfriend,  _ he thought, not sure why he was disappointed.

" Well,  _ he _ doesn’t have to know if we don’t tell, does he?” the guy replied with a smirk.

“Yeah, well, he’s…he’s here right now,”  she fumbled, “Right over…”

She looked all over the room again until her gaze landed on Anakin and her eyes locked with his.

“There. That’s him.”

 

 

_ Wait a minute _ … 

Padmé’s plan, which she’d thought of in under three seconds, to be fair, was to point out a random person at the party who wouldn’t notice and say that he was her boyfriend. She  _ hadn’t _ expected the guy to look her right in the eye, nor had she expected him to be someone she so clearly recognized.

He looked just as shocked as Padmé was feeling in that moment, like a taun-taun caught in a speeder’s headlights. He looked to his sides, almost as if to confirm that she hadn’t meant someone else, but once he looked her in the eye again, Padmé gave the subtlest of nods, cueing him to stand up and walk over to her. The awkwardness that was sure to follow was inevitable, but it was definitely worth it if it meant she could get away from Clovis.

“Oh,  _ there _ you are!” she exclaimed as soon as he was close enough for her to pull him into a fake hug, and she tugged his head down so that she could whisper into his ear,

“Just play along. I’ll do the talking.”

Releasing him and looking back at Clovis, she explained with fake enthusiasm, “Rush, this is my boyfriend…uh…” she paused as panic came over her again. This would give her away for sure.

“Anakin,” he added quickly, saving her.

“Anakin!” she echoed, over excited.

“Oh really?” Clovis approached Anakin, straightening his posture as if to look more intimidating.

Anakin’s position didn’t change at all as he towered over Clovis and didn’t have to do so much as look down at him before Clovis backed away just as fast.

Then, just as quickly, another guy bounded up to the group and slung his arm around Clovis, tipsily yelling something about a pool tournament, and dragging the confounded Clovis along behind him, disappeared into the crowd, leaving Anakin and Padmé alone next to the kitchen counter.

“Damn. He seemed awful,” Anakin remarked after a beat.

Padmé let out a laugh in agreement. “Yeah, you have  _ no _ idea,” she shook her head and ran her hand through her hair, “Thanks, by the way. Sorry that was so…  _ sudden _ . I owe you big time.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I saw the whole thing,” he replied, “But I guess now I know who to call if I ever need a fake girlfriend.”

There was another pause, until they both looked at each other and broke out into a laugh, the strangeness of the situation starting to melt away as they both laughed about what had just conspired.

“Who was that, by the way?” Anakin asked.

Padmé’s face twisted in disgust.

“Ex-boyfriend.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Anakin replied.

A glass bottle dropped and shattered on the floor behind them.

Padmé groaned at the sound. “God, I  _ really _ hate parties.”

“Yeah, me too,” Anakin agreed, glancing behind him at the glass shards all over the floor.

An idea seemed to come to him as he looked back at Padmé again.

“Wanna get out of here?”

“Absolutely,” Padmé replied without a second thought.

* * *

 

“The door’s just over— _ damnit! _ ”

As the pair maneuvered through clusters of people to reach the exit, someone knocked into Padmé and spilled beer all over her shirt—the  _ second _ piece of clothing a beverage had ruined that week, and although it at least wasn’t scalding hot like the caf she’d spilled the other day… it smelled so much worse.

“Oh...hells. C’mon, I think if we go through here…” Anakin managed, taking her hand to lead her the remainder of the way to the exit.

Finally, they were free from the house and walking across the front lawn, and they could take a breath without the suffocating crowds of partygoers depriving them of fresh air.

After taking a breath, though, Padmé remembered the foul-stenched alcohol that had just been dumped on her shirt.

“Spectacular. Now we have the privilege of inhaling the  _ lovely _ scent of cheap beer the whole way to...wherever we’re going,” she remarked.

“Where do you live?” Anakin asked, “I can walk you home...I mean, only if you want me to, that is,” he finished in a hurry.

“Kind of far from here, to be honest. I don’t want to make you go  _ too  _ far out of your way, or force you to smell my shirt for another fifteen minutes—not that I'd mind the company!” she rushed too, not wanting to give the wrong impression.

“It's no trouble, really. Come to think of it though, the café where I work is just a few blocks away if you’d rather take a minute to clean up there before we head to your place. I could make you a cup of caf? Not that I don’t appreciate the free aromatherapy, but—”

“Yeah!” she cut him off with a bit too much enthusiasm, “I mean, yeah, I’d love that.” Truthfully, she could think of no better way to spend the rest of the evening.

Only a few minutes passed before they made it back to the café, and Padmé took off to the bathroom as soon as Anakin unlocked the door. Standing in front of the sink, finally having a moment of peace after such a... _ complicated _ night, to say the least, she thought back on Anakin.

She’d expected different. She’d expected a jerk—well, she  _ always _ expected guys to be jerks after being with Clovis—or, at the very least, not someone who would care so much that he’d play along with her little scheme back at the party, or offer to walk her home,  _ or _ let her into his workplace after hours just because she’d been in the line of fire of a cup of beer. This night was evolving into something much more interesting than she’d expected, for sure.

Anakin had started making vanilla lattes as soon as they’d walked inside, and now that he was left alone, his thoughts had complete freedom to wander, which, of course, meant they immediately went to where they always go after interacting with any living being: everything he thought he may have done wrong.

Had he been too weird? Was it awkward when he made eye contact with her? Should he have helped her more with the whole fake boyfriend thing? Was it strange to suggest going back to the café instead of just taking her home? Yeah, he should’ve just taken her home, she probably just wants to get home and away from him now that he doesn’t have to pretend to be her boyfriend anymore...not to mention he’d have to figure out what to talk to her about while they drank caf...God, what  _ do  _ you talk to people about over caf? How long should they stay till it got weird? Should they just take the caf to-go? What if he said something to screw it all up? Like something awkward, what would he do? Should he—

Emerging from the bathroom looking much cleaner, abiet damper from the water she’d used to get rid of the beer, Padmé came just in time to stop Anakin’s train of thought from collapsing off the tracks and spiraling into a never-ending storm of worry. He walked out from behind the counter with two steaming vanilla lattes, and he set them on the coffee table by the couch under another one of those  _ aesthetic  _ paintings, the one of the croissant.

Padmé had never felt more delighted to see a cup of caf in her life, and it only took her a moment to realize that Anakin had remembered her favorite drink without her even having to ask for it. Sitting down on the couch, Anakin joined her and raised his mug in the air as if to propose a toast, and Padmé returned the gesture and  _ clinked _ her mug against his.

After taking a sip of his latte, Anakin asked, “So, I don’t know if this is my place to ask, but...what exactly happened with you and your ex? It must’ve been horrible since you recruited someone like me with no relationship experience to play your fake boyfriend.”

Padmé furrowed her brow in inquisition. “You’ve never been in a relationship? Well, to be honest, you’re not missing much.”

She then proceeded to tell him the entire miserable tale of her and Clovis’ relationship, about how stupid she was to fall for him in the first place, how he only really dated her so he could have a “trophy girlfriend,” as Padmé put it, and how he’d been cheating on her with various other girls from the day they started dating since she wasn’t willing to do...much, and he felt the need to satisfy his desires elsewhere.

“It all comes back to his view on women, I think,” Padmé said after she finished her story, swallowing another gulp of the latte she’d nearly downed, “He thinks he’s... _ entitled _ to women, entitled to  _ me _ , and when a woman tells him ‘no,’ then he just doesn’t know what to do with himself but find someone who will say yes.”

She waited for Anakin to say something. Something like guys always said when she started talking about feminism. 

But he didn’t say anything, oddly, so she kept going.

“And that’s not even the worst of it. I’m studying women in politics, and I’d like to  _ be _ a politician someday, but Clovis thinks that women are too emotional and too irrational to make decisions in government.”

“That’s so  _ dumb _ .” Anakin replied, “Guys only ever think that because they can’t process that a girl could  _ ever _ say no to them, so when a girl actually tells them no, they think they’re just being ‘crazy’ or ‘emotional’—”

“—because they’re so entitled!” Padmé finished

“Exactly!” Anakin exclaimed.

This was certainly not what she expected.

“Wow, I didn’t pin you as the type of person who actually  _ knows _ about this kind of stuff,” Padmé marvelled aloud, “Most people would’ve just told me to...I don’t know, they wouldn’t have cared all the way to this point, I guess.”

“Are you kidding?” he asked as if it were obvious, “I’m a total feminist, I think women’s rights are so important.”

“That’s...awesome!” Padmé said, surprised, “How did you…I mean, what got you into feminism?”

“A lot of things, really, but i guess it's just kind of my personal morals,” he explained, “You know, I think a lot of it has to do with my mom, too.”

Padmé was intrigued. “Really, how come?” 

Anakin felt more at ease now than he had before, so he didn’t feel hindered from opening up. “Well, she was really my biggest influence growing up. I had friends here and there, but...usually it was just me and her. She’s like my best friend, and we’re really close. She was a single mom who had to work day and night just to put food on the table, and she was able to do that while also being really present in my life and everything you want— _ need _ a mom to be. Since I was raised completely by a woman alone, a really strong woman, I noticed a lot of the crap she got because she was a working mother, and I watched how she put up with all that just to take care of me. She also taught me from a young age to believe that everyone should be treated equally, and as I got older, I wanted to learn more about rights, how people had gained their rights, what it really meant to have rights. I’m not saying I’m much of an activist or anything, but I really believe in all the things these people are saying.” 

Then he laughed that laugh of his again, effortless and nonchalant, almost as if it were an extension of his voice, “The patriarchy is ridiculous, and misogyny needs to stop completely.”

Wait...was she imagining this?

This was  _ too _ good to be true. Padmé had thought all along that guys her age—that  _ most  _ guys really—were narrow-minded and wouldn’t even  _ consider _ women’s rights. But a guy who actually  _ agreed _ with her? Who didn’t think that people didn’t need feminism anymore? Who didn’t tell her to stop being a  _ feminazi _ ? It was unreal.

“That’s...that’s incredible,” she found it difficult to describe just how... _ awesome _ this was to hear, “I can’t imagine how amazing your mom is, and I just...I mean, I can’t believe you haven’t told me to shut up by now. I can’t believe you actually  _ agree _ with me!”

Anakin raised an eyebrow, confused. “Why would I do that? And why  _ wouldn’t _ I agree with you?”

“I don’t know,” Padmé said, “A lot of people just think I’m too  _ fired up _ , you know? Too much of a ‘social justice warrior’ as some people like to call it. They don’t really take me seriously because my arguments aren’t always super developed, and I apparently talk too  _ much _ about social justice, or I don’t have enough facts or experience.”

“Well, I disagree,” Anakin contradicted her, “There’s nothing wrong with being fired up about stuff, and I don’t think you can talk too much about this kind of thing either. If anything, it needs to be talked about more! Don’t let people tell you not to be passionate. It’s people like you who are going to change the world, not them.”

There was a pause.

“...I’m pretty sure that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,” was all Padmé could think to say.

For once, she finally felt heard.

“So,” Anakin prompted, “Could I hear a little more about these ‘social justice warrior’ views of yours?”

They went on like this for some time, Anakin and Padmé asking one another questions about each other’s views, passions, dreams, which connected to their past experiences, to good and bad memories, to other topics, and all the way back again until their conversation became an untrackable spiral that carried them through each other's’ minds, both getting to know the other on the surface and farther down below.

Of course, they’d managed to work their way back to the basics, like their ages, what year of college they were in, their majors, and so on, talking and talking and talking until the minutes stretched into hours, the hours drank up the last of the caffeine their vanilla lattes had left in their bloodstream, and time became just an infinite platform for Anakin and Padmé to fill with conversation into the early hours of the morning, neither really remembering when they’d fallen asleep, exactly.

They did, though, but not until the early hours of the morning.

The sun was already shining when Anakin drifted out of sleep the next day, and it was the light piercing his eyes that finally woke him up. His shoulder felt heavier than usual, which was strange...until he looked down and saw someone’s head resting on it.

_ Oh, right. That happened,  _ he thought...warmly.

But then, a sense of panic came over him as he realized two things he didn’t know: one, how the hell they’d ended up here, and two, what he was supposed to do in this situation.

_ Do I move? Do I, like...wake her up, or…” _

Soon enough, however, Padmé shot up awake, looking startled and unsure of where she was or how she got there. After her eyes wandered around the room for an instant, her gaze finally fell back upon Anakin, and realization of where she was seemed to hit her.

Her face flushed bright red as she realized exactly  _ where _ and  _ how _ she’d been sleeping. Embarrassment was at the forefront of her emotions, but she remembered the comfort of Anakin’s shoulder fondly.

“Oh...my God, I’m...sorry?” she tried, though she couldn’t seem to keep herself from smiling.

“Yeah, it’s...I’m...not really sure what—”

“Me neither.”

They sat like that for a minute, just smiling, in complete confusion, but...smiling, not really sure what to say. Though they were both a little shocked, neither was in much of a hurry to leave.

Soon, the moment passed as Padmé noticed her comm buzzing excessively with messages from Sabé and Dormé.

“I should go,” she thought out loud, reluctant, “I don’t think my friends have any idea where I am. I’m pretty sure I forgot to tell them I was leaving last night.”

“Oh, shoot,” Anakin remembered, “I never told my roommate I was leaving either...I was supposed to drive him and his friends home.”

“Well, this was way more... _ fun _ than that party would’ve been,” Padmé offered, “Our friends will survive.”

“You’re right. It was fun,” Anakin agreed, a gentle, happy expression still unable to leave his face. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain to Rex that he’d lost the bet and had one of the best nights of his life last night.

Padmé stood up and started heading for the door. Just as she was about to walk out, she turned back around towards the couch where Anakin still sat.

“Thanks for…” she began, trying to figure out what she was so grateful for exactly. She hadn’t had this wonderful of a time with another person for as long as it seemed she could remember, so there must’ve been something he deserved her thanks for.

“Thanks for such a great night,” she decided before taking her leave.

She found herself grinning from the moment she left the café all the way down the street. Halfway to her apartment, though, she stopped dead in her tracks as she realized she hadn't gotten  _ any _ of Anakin’s contact information and she’d have no way to reach him. 

After a minute, however, she realized that she need not worry because soon enough, given their luck up until this point, their paths would cross when they’d least expect it, they’d stumble upon each other in some weird scenario, or she’d simply go for a vanilla latte and find him at the café again.

And she couldn’t wait till then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so if it wasn't clear, Anakin has rly bad social anxiety, which i based heavily off of my own. Padmé's issues with people thinking she's too much of a sjw are based off of my own experiences too, so i hope i portrayed both of their characters well. thanks again for reading, and be sure to comment!!! until next time!


End file.
